Improved machine for rolling green or wet leather



UNITED STATES rPATENT OFFICE.

JOEL WHITNEY, OF WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVE!) MACHINE FOR ROLLING GREEN OR WET LEATHER.

Specification forming` part of Letters lPatent No. 37,991, dated March 24, 1863.

To all whom it muy concern:

v Be it known that I, JOEL WHITNEY, of Winchester, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful improvement in machinery for treating green or wet leather so as to express the water or tanning-liquor from the same, and not discolor the surface thereof; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of a machine adapted for performing my invention, reference being had t0 the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a plan with a portion of the frame and rollers broken away at the center to show the treadle; Fig. 2, a vertical longitudinal section through the center of the rollers, showing an arrangement of levers for relieving the pressure 5 and Fig. 3, an end elevation of the machine. Fig. 4 is a modilication of the lever arrangement. Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and l0 are details of the machine.

Similar letters of 1 eference in the several figures indicate corresponding parts.

[n the process of tanning leather or skins of which thick leather is ina-de it is necessary to split the leather or skins in order to reduce the thickness thereof, and in order to accomplish the splitting at certain stages of the tanning process the tanning-liquor or water must'be expressed from it before commencing the spliting operation, and in the expressing operation means such as will not discolor the surface of the leather must be employed, because the market value is greatly affected by the color. It' iron rollers are used the tannic acid causes a corrosion otl the metal, and the rust is imparted to the surface of the leather, and be' sides this the leather is but imperfectly operated upon, as the surface of the rollers cannot conform to the irregularity of thickness ofthe leather, nor is it desirable at this stage of the tanning process to so compress the leather as use of the tanner, and the only ofiice it is intended to perform is that of expressing the tanning liquor or water from the leather in order to prepare it for the action of such machines as have been devised for splitting leather.

To enable others to perform with my invention, I will proceed to described a machine which I have designed for the purpose, and which l think is the best adapted to the purpose.

A A is a frame constructed in a suitable manner to receive the component parts ofthe machine. B B are two rollers of equal size, placed one above another, and with their journals C C revolving in boxes D D and E. The revolution of the rollers is effected by means of gears F G H I, which are arranged so as to allow the rollers to be set at any required distance apart without breaking the gearingconnection, as shown. A gear, F, is fixed to the upper roller,- and a corresponding gear to the lower roller outside of the journals. These gears Fand I are both of the same size, and, their diameter being less than the diameter of the rollers, the t: eth of one never comes in contact with the teeth of the other.

of the riller-gears, and fitted to revolve o n studs J J, attached to the frame. The lowir intermediate gear, H, meshes into and drives the roller-gear I. It also meshes into and drives the upper intermediate gear, G, and the upper intermediate gear, G, meshes into and drives the upper roller-gear, F. Motion is given to the rollers through the gears by a driving-wheel, K, with a pinion` L, attached thereto, which meshes into and drives the lower intermediate gear, l1. 'The` pinion, L, is made fast to the drivingwheel K, and is tted to revolve on a stud, M, set in the .frame rThe intermediate gears, G and H, are both of a size, but alittle larger than the rollergears F and I. They are placed back 8 and are made to slide up and down infor the purpose of elevating or depressing the upper roller. These screws a a stand in a vertical position, and have a collar above and below the cap-piece O to prevent them from sliding up and down, and each screw has a fixed bevel-gear, b, on the upper end above the cap-piece O. A horizontal shaft, c, is placed above the cap-piece O, running lengthwise of the machine, and fitted to revolve in boxes d d on the cap pi ce O, with a fixed bevel-wheel, e e, on each end, corresponding with those on the screws and fitted to mesh therein. On one end of this shaft c, outside of the bevelgear, there is a xed hand-wheehj, by which the shaft may be turned at pleasure. A rubb .r spring, g, or its equivalent, is confined in a box, IL, and placed directly under each of the lower roller'boxes, E E, of sufficient power to give the required pressure. Over each rubb( r spring g there is an oilprotecting cap,z', on which the roller boxes E E rest. This capi projects down on all sides outside of the box It', and is fitted to slide freely up and down thereon, and made to cover the spring g and keep the oil, used in lubricating thejournals, from comingin contact with it. The cap i' also has a stirrup,j, attached to it, as represented in Figs. 9 and l0. -The-re are two horizontal levers k k-one at each end of the machineextendinglongitudinally directly under the center of the roller B. Each of these levers k extend through and rest on the stirrupj, and are hung at the outer end on the pins l l Jo: their fulcra outside of the frame. There are two connecting-links, m m-one attached to the inner end of each lever lc by a pin, n, and extending downward. Both of them are connected by a pin, 0,*to a horizontal treadle, p, running transversely through the lower part: ofthe machine at the center of its length. The treadle P is hung at its rear end 011 a pin, q, in the back part of the frame, and the forward e 1d extends cut bejo 1d the front .of the frame so as to give a convenient chance to place the foot upon it. Thus it will be readily s' en that by giving a gentle downward pressure with the foot on the treadle the combined action of the levers lc 7c on the stirrups jj will cause a depression of the oil-protecting caps .i i', together with the lower roller, B. When the pressure on the rollers is not given by the use of springs, this combination of levers may be applied to give the pressure by ex tending the stirrups up and attaching them to the upper roller-boxes, D D, and attaching the geared screws a c to the lower boxes, E E. VIn that case the pressure would be given by the foot on the treadle. This combination of levers. may also be used to give the pressure in another form, as represented in Fig. 4. The only change necessary to be made is to place'the fulcra-pins Z Z of .the levers 7c la inside of the frame, instead of outside, andV stand an upright rod, r, Fig. 4,.on the outer end of each lever k, extending up 'centrally to the under side of the lower rollerboxes, E E. Thus, by giving a gentle downward pressure with the foot on the treadle p, the combined action of the levers 7c 7c will cause an upward pressure to the lower roller, B. In this case the geared screws 'would be attached to the upper rollerboxes, as shown in Figs. l and 2.

Operation of the invention Wet leather, to be deprived of water or tanning-liquor, is introduced between the two rollers after the same have been adjusted apart to the proper degree, this adjustment being effected by depressing the treadle or raising the upper roller with the geared screws. The leather having been introduced, the rollers are readjusted together by withdrawing the foot from the treadle and lowering the boxes of the upper roller with the geared screws. Now, by operating the gearing the rollers E have a uniform rotary motion imparted to them, and the leather is carried through under a pressure due to the rubber surfaces and to the geared screws and'to the springs g g. This action upon the leather causes a thorough expres-` sion of the water or tanning-liquor therefrom'.

The amount of the pressure is graduated by depressing the springs g g and operating the geared screws. It is obvious that the rubber surfaces ofthe rollers accommodate themselves to theirregular surface ofthe leather, and thus a uniform action is obtained. It is also obvious that the rubber surfaces protect theleath er from discoloration, as the tanning-liquor cannot get to the iron of the rollers so as to cause a corrosion thereof'. It is also obvious that the pores of the leather will not be closed by hardening or flattening down the leather, as the leather is between elastic surfaces.'

I do not claim a single yielding-roller in connection with a splitting-machine, nor do I intend my invention for wringing clothes 5 but What I do claim as myinvent-ion, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination of the rollers B B P I). shaft o, and screws da, with the devieesg Hij Zkmp, in the manner described, for the purpose of producing the effects described upon wet leather.

2. Thehangerj, cap z', box or cylinder h, and spring q, in combination with a roller, B, in the manner and Jfor the purpose described.

3. The combination of the levers 7c k, links 'm m, and treadle p, with the hanger j ofthe cap i, in the manner and for the 'purpose described.

4. The combination, in a wet-leather rolling-machine, of the spring g, lever arrangementlcl m p, and geared-screw arrangement c e e b b da, in the manner and for the purpose described.

' JOEL WHITNEY.

Witnesses CHAs.v W. HAwKEs, DARIUs HARVEY. 

